Tomato prices soar to Rs100 per kg in Delhi-NCR on low supply

Tomato prices have shot up about four times since the beginning of June when they were being sold at about Rs25 per kg in the Delhi-National Capital Region market. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Tomato prices have risen to around Rs100 per kg in the national capital market as supplies from major producing states have been disrupted because of heavy rains.

Mother Dairy is selling tomatoes at Rs96 per kg here through its 300 retail stores ‘Safal’, while online grocery platforms like Big Basket and Grofers are offering this key vegetable at nearly Rs100 per kg. Local vendors are selling tomatoes in the Rs80-100 per kg range depending on the quality.

Prices have shot up about four times since the beginning of June when tomatoes were being sold at about Rs25 per kg in the Delhi-National Capital Region market. As per the consumer affairs ministry’s data, the average price of tomatoes stood at Rs80 per kg on Monday across major cities in the country while the maximum price was Rs95.

Price of tomatoes in Delhi was Rs83 per kg, while in Mumbai it was Rs88, Chennai Rs80 and Kolkata Rs95, the government data showed. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha are the major tomato growing states. The country produces around 18 million tonnes of tomatoes.

When contacted, a senior official from Mother Dairy said the supply has almost dried up from states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, while arrival from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand too have fallen leading to a price surge.

Last week, agriculture secretary Shobhana K. Pattanayak had said that “this is a lean season for tomato. The price rise is a temporary phenomenon and it will faze out soon”. The department of consumer affairs monitors price for 22 essential commodities based on data collected from 100 market centres spread across India representing North, West, East, South and North-eastern regions of the country.